Ned took entire charge of the negotiations at the clothing store and all Cal had to do was to stand by, listen, watch and try on the various suits that were brought forth. Ned refused to consider anything under twelve dollars. “Those cheap things don’t pay, Cal,” he said decisively. “They’re just shoddy; not an ounce of wool in them; and they won’t wear two weeks without getting to look like rags.”
“The suit I brought back,” confided Cal in a voice lowered so as not to pain the salesman, “seemed to be most all splinters and pieces of bur.”
“All wood and a yard wide,” commented Ned with no effort to moderate his voice and no concern for the clerk’s feelings. “Probably made from one of those wooden sheep you see in the toy-shops.”
[316]
At last Ned was suited, and, without intending a pun, so was Cal. The suit selected was a rough mixture that the salesman called a Harris tweed but which Ned was certain had never crossed the water. It was gray in effect, but close examination revealed a little of every color known. It was really rather stylish and had at the same time the merit, approved of Cal, of not readily showing dirt. The price was twelve dollars and Cal went down into his pocket for an additional two dollars and fifteen cents. Then Ned insisted on the purchase of a blue necktie, price thirty-five cents, and a leather belt at half a dollar. Cal was growing uneasy and was very glad when the suit was boxed and delivered to him and he could hurry out before Ned discovered any further extravagances for him to indulge in.
On the way home they talked quite frankly of the mystery of Ned’s missing eight dollars. “Of course, Cal,” said his room-mate, “I might have been mistaken about seeing you up that night, but it’s hard to believe. Still, you ought to know whether you were up or not.”
“I don’t understand that,” said Cal. “I’m just certain sure that I wasn’t out of bed, but both you and Spud saw someone.”
[317]
“Yes, and I’d say it was a burglar, only it isn’t likely a burglar would parade around in night-clothes, is it? Of course, it might have been one of the other fellows in there for some joke or other. Maybe when he heard about the money being missing he didn’t like to fess up.”
“I’ll bet that was it!” cried Cal with relief. “Only—only where did the money get to?”
“Well, I’ve been saying lately that I thought I’d just naturally put it somewhere and forgotten about it, and now I’m beginning to think that’s what really happened, Cal. Only where the dickens did I put it? I’ve looked all over the shop.”
“You’re quite sure you didn’t spend it?” asked Cal.
“Of course I am. Gee, if I spent eight dollars I guess I’d have something to show for it, wouldn’t I?”
“I hope so,” laughed Cal. “Unless you blew it all in on sodas and candy.”
“Even then I’d have a jolly good tummy-ache to remember it by!”
“Well, I hope you’ll find it some time, Ned.”
“So do I. Say, how’s your chin?”
“Hurts sort of. So does my head, I cal’late[318] I’ve got some lumps back there.” Cal felt and nodded gravely. “Dandies,” he added.
“I’m sorry,” Ned said. “But I want you to know that I’ve got a bunch of sore knuckles here, too.” He viewed them aggrievedly. “I guess we’ll have to fake up a yarn to tell the fellows at the house.”
“Say we were scuffling and fell,” said Cal. “That’s true, isn’t it?”
“True enough, I guess. Though I don’t just see how you managed to fall on the side of your chin.”
“I cal—guess we won’t have to give any details,” answered Cal. “What time is it? I’m fearfully hungry.”
Ned looked at his watch and they hastened their pace, reaching West House a quarter of an hour before dinner time. At table Cal’s chin didn’t go unnoticed, and although the explanation tendered was accepted without protest the rest of West House knew very well that Ned and Cal had had more than a scuffle. But whatever had happened had cleared the air. That was very evident. The occupants of the Den now seemed as unwilling to lose sight of each other for an instant as before they had been unwilling to remain together. Dinner was an excited[319] function that day, for everyone’s thoughts were on the football game at two-thirty and the coming contest was talked of over and over.
“We’ll get licked worse than last time,” declared Sandy.
“Then there won’t be any third game?” asked Clara disappointedly.
“Oh, yes, there will. We play three games anyhow,” The Fungus reassured him. “And it isn’t very often that the third game isn’t the—the crucial one.”
“Great talk, Fungus,” Dutch applauded.
“Yes, that’s a peach of a word,” agreed Spud. “Got any more like it, Toadstool? I like to use ’em when I write home. Makes folks think I’m really learning lots.” Then, seeing his opportunity to engage Sandy in dispute, something that Spud loved above all things, he turned to the House Leader. “You’re all wrong, though, Sandy, about our getting licked this afternoon. Can’t be did.”
“I hope I am wrong,” answered Sandy pessimistically, “but I can’t figure it out that way.”
“Well, I can. For one thing, you know mighty well that House has improved about fifty per cent. in team-play this last week.”
[320]
“It’s improved, yes, but not any fifty per cent. And what do you suppose Hall has been doing? Standing still? Young Hoyt told me this morning that they’ve come on like anything.”
“So have we,” said Spud stoutly. “Our backs are every bit as good as theirs, while as for the line, why, I can’t see but what we had it on them a bit last game.”
“If only we had a couple of good ends,” lamented Hoop.
“Oh, you dry up and blow away! Say, Hoop, is it true that Brooksie is going to let you carry the water pail today?”
“If I do you won’t get any of it!”
“And you won’t be able to carry it if you don’t stop eating pretty soon. Better speak to him, Sandy. That’s his third dip in the mash.”
“That’s a whopper,” growled Hoop. “I’ve only had potatoes twice; haven’t I, Marm?”
“I don’t know, Hoop, but they won’t hurt you, surely. Potatoes never hurt anyone. Vegetarians always eat lots of potatoes.”
“So do Episcopalians,” murmured Spud. “Pass ’em this way, please, somebody.”
“You’d all better go slow on eating,” cautioned[321] Sandy. “The game will be called in an hour and a half.”
“Pshaw, I’ll be hungry again by that time,” said Dutch.
At half-past one they set out for the gymnasium, all save Clara, who had promised to take Molly over to see the game and who went over to the Curtis’s to get her. Even Mrs. Linn was going, but couldn’t leave her house yet. As the first contest had taken place on the Hall gridiron, today’s was scheduled for the House field. On each side settees from the gymnasium were being strung along for the accommodation of the audience, a small and select one. The faculty, in order to avoid any appearance of partiality, distributed themselves on both sides of the gridiron. Today Doctor Webster and his family were seated amongst the Hall supporters, while Mr. Spander, Mr. Kendall, and Mr. Fordyce, although residents of the Hall, were mingling with the wearers of the red. Mr. James, attired in a pair of gray trousers and an old Dartmouth sweater, was to referee. The umpire was a man from the village. The afternoon was bright and fairly warm, with a mild westerly breeze down the field. The scene was a very pretty one, the red and blue of the[322] players scattered over the green field and of the substitutes on the side-lines supplying spots of vivid color.
Clara and Molly reached the field only a few minutes before the game began. The rival teams were already practising and footballs were arching up and down against the blue of the autumn sky. They found seats near the middle of the gridiron on the House side amongst a scattering of non-combatants. Molly had plenty of attention, for by this time she had become acquainted with most of the boys of the two Houses and not a few Hall residents. Young Hoyt, a substitute back for the Hall Team, joined them and tried to persuade Molly to substitute a blue arm-band for the red streamer she wore. But Hoyt was in the enemy’s country and was speedily driven away, laughingly defiant.
“You’ll wish you had this when the game’s over, Molly,” he warned her. “Get your winning colors!”
Mrs. Linn arrived on the scene, flushed and out of breath, just as Frank Brooks and Pete Grow were tossing for choice of goal. Mrs. Butterfield, matron at East House, made room for her beside her and a discussion of the art[323] of preserving began at once and lasted practically all through the game. Marm declared afterwards, however, that it was the most interesting football game she had ever seen. Grow won the toss and took the west goal, thus getting the wind in Hall’s favor, and the teams arranged themselves while House and Hall cheered their warriors.
It was evident even from the first moment that Brooks had succeeded in working a big improvement in his team, for after getting the kick-off House worked the ball well past the middle of the field, making two first downs before losing it by an on-side kick that went wrong. And when placed on the defensive House still showed improvement over last week’s form. But Hall had been coming too, and Sawyer, the big full-back, made good gains through the red line. But Grow realized that with the wind favoring him his game was to punt and so get the ball within scoring distance. In the middle of the field Grow himself dropped out of the line and sent off a long high spiral that the wind helped considerably and The Fungus caught it on House’s ten yard-line and dodged back to the twenty before he was downed. Boyle and Ned, alternating, took the[324] pigskin back to the thirty-five yards and there M’Crae punted. The ball was Hall’s on her fifty yards, and after two plunges that fell short of the required distance Grow kicked again. This time the ball went over the goal-line and M’Crae touched it back.
House elected to put it in scrimmage on the twenty-five yards, but was soon forced to punt once more. This time luck favored the Red, for Hall’s right half misjudged the ball, tipped it with his fingers and was then pushed aside by Spud, who fell on it on the Hall’s forty-five yard-line. The handful of House supporters cheered wildly. But House lost the pigskin presently on downs and Hall tried an end run that worked beautifully around Miller and landed the oval just inside House t............